The Effects of Alabama Summer Weather on Foundations

This blog post was written by Affordable Foundation and Home Repair of Alabama. We are Your premiere provider of foundation repair, basement waterproofing, and home repair in the Birmingham, Hartselle, and Huntsville, AL areas. Our team is licensed and insured in Alabama and uses ECP (Earth Contact Products) to ensure that our repairs keep your home sturdy for years to come. Contact us if you are in need of remodeling or foundation repair for your Alabama home.

There have been several reports lately warning Alabama residents to expect even hotter and drier conditions this summer. While you know that the hot, dry, weather during the summertime can be dangerous for you and your family, but you may not realize that this weather also poses a danger to your home's foundation, as warm and dry conditions result in soil shrinkage.

As the temperatures rise and the ground dries out, the soil underneath your home will start to shrink. Soil shrinkage can lead to foundation movement - as the soil shrinks, it will shift and gaps may open up in the ground. If these gaps and spaces in the ground start form in the ground that supports your foundation, the concrete will start to lack the support that it needs. This will cause it to sink, shift, and even crack. Hot weather can also

If you think that the hot and dry weather could be causing foundation problems in your home, look for telltale signs. These signs include cracks in the walls or floor, settling foundation, leaning or bowing walls, sloped floors, and foundation or brick cracks.

Repair Options for Alabama Foundation Problems this Summer

If you are worried about your foundation this summer and have started to notice cracks and other signs of a foundation issue, call Affordable Foundation and Home Repair. We have the solutions that you need to fix foundation problems caused by the hot, dry summer weather in Alabama:

These are some of the services that we use to repair foundation problems in homes within our Alabama service area. We use several different kinds of ECP piers to lift sinking foundations and ensure the slab is stabilized. We also specialize in the installation of ECP helical tiebacks or plate anchors to reposition foundations that have started to shift due to soil shrinkage.

Our other services include polyjacking, concrete repair, and crack repair. We use concrete repair and crack repair to fix structural issues and cracks in your home that may have arisen due to the stress the summer weather puts on your foundation. Polyjacking (injecting a polyurethane foam under the slab) is a great solution to fill voids resulting from soil shrinkage and lift your home.

All of these solutions can help to protect your Alabama home's foundation from the negative effects of hot, dry, summer weather.

CA Drought Foundation Problems

This blog post was written by Bay Area Underpinning. We are a Vallejo-based foundation repair company that serves the Bay Area of California. We use ECP (Earth Contact Products). Our family-operated company, owned by Steve Egloff, consists of a team of a professional team of trained foundation repair experts licensed in the state of California. Bay Area Underpinning specializes in steel pier installation for the stabilization of foundations in both residential and commercial applications throughout the state of California.

Recently, the drought in California has been causing several major issues for those who live there. What residents of California may not be aware of is that the dry conditions in the state may also be the cause of serious foundation problems.

The lack of rainfall leads to a low moisture level in the soil. As the soil around your home dries out, it can start to shrink. This soil shrinkage may eventually form voids and gaps beneath your foundation, as the shrinking soil shifts and starts to fall away. Voids beneath your foundation are not good - any spaces under the concrete reduce the structural integrity of the foundation. This means that the foundation can start sinking and settling.

If you are worried about foundation sinking due to the drought in your California home, look for the following symptoms of failure: foundation cracks, cracks in the drywall or ceiling, sloped or uneven floors, bowing or leaning walls, and water leakage in home. These are all signs that your foundation could be sinking and is in need of repair from the experts at Bay Area Underpinning.

Solutions to Drought-Related Foundation Issues in California

Our foundation lifting techniques involve a variety of piering options using the high-quality steel products from ECP. Some of these solutions that we offer to lift and stabilize settling foundations include:

Resistance Piers - These piers are strong and deep-driving making them a good choice even for large buildings and heavy foundations.

Steel Push Piers -Push piers are a common foundation repair device that utilizes a two-step system to get below the active soil and stabilize homes.

Helical Piers - These piers are screwed into the ground for more stability and are ideal for applications where resistance to tension or compressive force is needed.

Slab Piers - Used mechanically or hydraulically and are an economical choice for homeowners with sinking slab foundations.

All of these repair options from ECP help to stabilize your foundation and prevent the drought from causing foundation failure in the future. If you have a sinking foundation in California due to the drought, underpinning with ECP products can help.

Ceiling Cracks Repaired by My Foundation Repair

Knowing the difference in ceiling cracks can reduce your stress and help save your home. All homes and businesses are subject to movement, that is normal. It can be caused by weather fluctuations or by settling groundwork below the home or business. If you are seeing cracks in your ceiling, there are a few things to check to see if the cracks in the ceiling are due to age or structural damage.

Where are the cracks located? The location of the cracks in your ceiling are a good way to tell what is going on. Normally, if the crack is located along the edges of the ceiling it is because of house settlement. Cracks across the middle of a room can be troublesome and should be addressed immediately by one of the professionals at My Foundation Repairs. Multiple, wide, or long cracks in the middle of the ceiling should be looked at as there may be more going on than the everyday home or business owner can detect.

Are your ceilings bowed? If you notice a bow in your ceiling along with visible signs of cracking , that is a sign of a large problem. The joists in a home can only support a certain amount of weight, but once that weight is surpassed then the support weakens, the ceiling sags, and before you know it the ceiling collapses.

Ceiling Crack Repair

If ceiling cracks are a result of a foundation problem, My Foundadtion Repairs has contractors that use underpinning products manufactured by Earth Contact Products (ECP), the leader in foundation repair products in the industry. These ECP underpinning products are steel push piers and helical piers. These piers are driven deep into the ground through unstable soil layers until they reach a solid soil layer. Then each pier is load tested. After load testing the entire weight of the structure is transferred onto the piers to level and stabilize the foundation.

So if you notice ceiling cracks, it is important to contact a professional to come and inspect your home and see if the cracks are due to foundation problems. My Foundation Repairs will send a contractor out to give you a free inspection and offer you the best foundation repair solutions for your repair needs. It is important to get the repair done as soon as the issue is noticed. The sooner you get your foundation repair done, the least amount of structural damage will occur throughout your home.

Ceiling Cracks are Often Times Normal

What do matching vertical cracks mean? A crack that runs vertically across the ceiling and continue onto the wall are a major concern. This is a sign of structural damage to the home or business in question. Usually this can be attributed to a natural disaster such as an earthquake or tornado, the settling of a home over an extended time, or a man made incident. Note that the size of the crack can help you determine the severity of your problem. You can contact My Foundation Repairs to schedule an estimate.

What does the term spiderweb cracks mean? Spiderweb cracks are not necessarily located just in the ceiling of a home or business. They can also be found in walls, floors, and grout lines. Most of the time a spiderweb crack appears in older homes and is caused by the settling of a house or business. Spiderwebs are normal; however, with this being said if you notice a crack that is over 1/16 inches wide, contact a professional to investigate the situation.

The most common reason for ceiling cracks is moisture, and frankly that is normal also. It is recommended to find the source of the moisture and eliminate the problem. Moisture often times is the result of improper water drainage. Perhaps, the gutter system is clogged or there is another cause for the roof to leak. This moisture, change in temperature, and air floor change can cause cracks. Thankfully My Foundation Repairs is here to help you.